Last week, this blog covered the security flaw that was discovered in the Secure Sockets Layer of Safari on the iOS and Mac OS X operating system. The problem allowed criminals using a shared network to become a "middle man" and monitor or record all communication between the web browser and the site's server. So, if you are making a purchase on Amazon, the criminals can watch and take your card information.
Almost immediately, a software patch was released for the mobile platforms that fixes the patch. However, Mac was left on the backburner with a promise that something was coming soon. A recent article from the BBC is reporting that Apple has finally released a software update for the computers.
According to Graham Cluley, a security analyst who spoke with the news source, the flaw was known for months and Apple waited to announce it until it had a fix in place. He called it a failure by the company to not identified the flaw earlier.
"It's pretty bad what Apple have done, they've seriously dropped the ball. How much the problem has been exploited is hard to say," Cluley said. "Hackers may now be trying to take advantage while users wait for the security fix."
For businesses that have a Mac integration, updating all the systems immediately to fix this security flaw could seem daunting. This is especially true as some organizations have delayed update policies, where systems must wait for the IT department to vet the new versions to make sure all existing application will work with it before upgrading. An IT consulting firm that specializes in Apple support can help any company understand and implement these upgrades quickly.
